Thank Goodness for Allergens and Malcolm Reed
by scribooty
Summary: A strange illness brings Hoshi and Trip together. Eventually. With some help. Complete
1. Part 1

Title: Thank Goodness for Allergens and Malcolm Reed

Author: sbeegee

Category: S/Tu; Romance/Humor

Rating: PG

Summary: A strange illness brings Hoshi and Trip together. Eventually.With some help

**Part 1**

The mess hall was practically empty when Hoshi stalked into it, a sulky pout on her face. Of course, she would never have described herself as stalking, sulking or pouting. She was a little out-of-sorts, maybe. Cross, perhaps. Childish? Never.

She walked to the counter displaying the meal choices. All healthy, well-balanced meals that would no doubt be filling and nutritious. She hated all of them. She folded her arms across her chest as she attempted to discern which was the least distasteful to her, when an amused stage-whisper dared to intrude upon her righteous anger. "What did that chicken ever do to you?"

Hoshi's head spun to the unwanted commentary, and saw Trip standing next to her with his mouth quirked into a half-grin, his eyes sparkling. To think that she had ever thought of that grin as charming. "What exactly are you talking about, Commander?" she asked, not even trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"You, glaring at that piece of chicken – like you wished it was still alive so you could teach it who's boss. That'd be quite some match: super-linguist versus super-chicken!" He laughed at the image – quite idiotically, she thought.

Hoshi scowled at the Chief Engineer and tried to maintain her composure. "I have no idea to what you are referring to. I was most certainly not 'glaring' at anything!"

"Oh yeah?" he good naturedly drawled. "Well you might want to let your face know that, 'cause I'm not sure it got the memo."

She pulled herself up to her full height – how she wished she could loom! – and tried to regain her dignity. She really did try. It was useless. As mad as she wanted to be at him for mocking her pain, she could not maintain the necessary anger. One corner of her lip began to twitch.

"Hah!" Trip exclaimed in triumph. "I see it! Stop fightin' it, Hosh! Your deep love for me is gonna win out!"

Hoshi's face wore the ridiculous mask of a person who wants desperately to be furious and to burst out in laughter, all at the same time. The laughing won. "God I hate it when you do that!" she finally got out. "I _wanted_ to be mad!"

Trip laughed as he companionably slung one arm around her shoulders. "Why don't we just skip the offensive chicken and head straight for the dessert?" He skillfully grabbed two plates of pecan pie with his other hand and steered her to a table in the far corner of the room. He smiled as he saw her attack her dessert. "So… why don't you tell me what's been eating you? Lately, you've been crankier than Malcolm before his morning coffee."

Hoshi paused with the fork raised to her mouth and looked at him through narrowed eyes. She thought for a moment, sighed loudly and then began to blush. Trip couldn't help but smile, she was adorable. "It's nothing," she finally answered as she began to concentrate on playing with the little that remained of her pie. "It was just this whole shore leave situation," she continued, the words rushing to get out.

Trip's eyes widened a little before he once again burst into laughter. "You're kidding, right?" he asked. "Are you telling me that you're upset about not getting down to the planet for shore leave?" he asked, the disbelief fighting the humor in his voice. _Enterprise_ had come across what appeared to be a vacation paradise, though everyone had needed to be vaccinated against a particularly nasty allergen on the planet's surface. Unfortunately, for a very small percentage of the crew – including Trip and Malcolm – the inoculations had not been effective, and Phlox had deemed it unsafe for them to risk their health by going down to the planet's surface.

Hoshi's head snapped up, her lips back into pout position. Needless to say, she was also one of the few crew members who had experienced a bad reaction to the vaccine, and had been stuck on board pulling double shifts with the rest of the skeleton crew. "Don't you _dare_ laugh at me, Trip Tucker! Do you know what the others are doing right now? They're lying – on sandy beaches, mind you – and shopping in exotic bazaars, and … and… and eating!… tropical fruit!" Hoshi waved her fork in the air for emphasis before pushing her plate – completely cleaned, Trip noticed – away from herself in dramatic disgust.

This time, he really did try to contain himself, though it was hard work to keep from laughing again. He knew that she really must have been in a quite a mood to get so worked up over this. Then again, he thought, it _had_ been a long time since Hoshi had had some quality down time. That sobered him a little – he knew that she was a workaholic who generally loved her job as much as he did his, but everyone needed a break. "I'm sorry for laughing at you," he said, and Hoshi eyed him suspiciously, searching for a joke in his words. "Naw, really Hosh, you're right – we deserve a break, too. How 'bout a movie tonight? Maybe we could talk Malcolm into coming too?"

Hoshi gave him one of those shy smiles of hers that he loved. "You're on, Commander." she replied. "But don't forget to bring some snacks," she added with a light laugh.

"I'm at your command!" he cheerfully responded as they stood up from the table. But he couldn't help adding, "And, Hoshi? If you _really_ feel the need for a more 'shore-leave' type atmosphere, feel free to show up in a bikini. Maybe a little grass skirt? I promise I won't complain."

Hoshi burst into laughter as she threw her napkin at his face. As they walked to the bridge together, she didn't pout even once.

* * *

Hoshi smiled as Trip casually entered the bridge. With all the senior officers back from the planet, they had quickly reestablished their regular shifts, and were now conducting a scientific survey of a gas giant that T'Pol had been particularly interested in. And while the Vulcan science officer seemed even more reserved than usual, things seemed back to normal.

Well, mostly normal, she amended as Trip gave her a cheerful wink. She had to hand it to him, he knew how to cheer a girl up. She had been truly touched as to the lengths he had gone to make her happy after their conversation in the mess hall. He had let her pick the movies – two recent natural disaster films that had perversely made her feel better about missing shore leave – and he had covered the lounge in an insane collection of decorations intended to be festive.

As she, Malcolm, Phlox, and some of the few others left on board had walked around the room laughing at the toilet paper streamers and rubber glove balloons, the doors had opened to reveal Trip… in the most revolting pair of swimming trunks she had ever seen, along with a snorkeling mask covering half his face, and a pair of sandals on his black-stockinged feet. One look at him in his baggy, terrycloth, pink and green floral print trunks, and Hoshi had lost it. She had dissolved into laughter, clutching her stomach as tears trickled out of her eyes

"Hey, y'all!" he called out, as if oblivious to the reaction to his outfit. "Hoshi!" he had cried out in mock outrage, "where's your coconut bra and grass skirt? I was thinking we could do a little hula later!" That had cracked everyone up even more, and Hoshi had been able to laugh away the last of her earlier bad mood. After Trip had taken off the mask and put on a t-shirt, he sat next to her and they had joked throughout both movies, with Malcolm occasionally rolling his eyes at them.

Now, as she watched him and the Captain talking across the bridge, she lightly shook her head. It was a good thing she knew him so well, or she would have been in big trouble. He was too charming for his own good, and while she knew his attentions to her had been completely sincere – she doubted that he _could_ be insincere – she also knew that they had sprung from friendship only. A less wary woman would have found herself swept off her feet before she realized that no one else was actually holding her up.

Trip walked over to her station and leaned over to whisper to her confidentially. "So, did you hear what happened all day yesterday during shore leave?" he asked. The rest of the crew had returned to the ship the previous night, but she hadn't spoken to anyone about it before her shift had begun. She shook her head no, her eyes sparkling in anticipation. "Rain," he intoned, in a comically portentous voice. "The whole day. And," he paused dramatically, "apparently all the 'tropical fruit' they ate? Tasted like raw potatoes."

Hoshi let out a peal of laughter before quickly stifling it. She flushed as she looked around guiltily. Trip gave her another wink as he made his way to the turbolift.

"In a good mood, Ensign?" Captain Archer asked, a slight smile on his face.

"Oh, you know me, Sir. Just happy to be doing my job," she answered, a slightly impish smile on her lips.

Jon just drew his brows together in a mock-glare, but before he could say anything, T'Pol spoke. "Captain," she intoned, in a slightly strained voice. "May I be excused from my shift? I appear to be overly tired. I believe that I need to rest."

Concern immediately appeared on Jon's face, as he well knew that T'Pol would not make such a request lightly, especially considering that she had been the one to advocate studying the planet below them to begin with. "Of course. Your shift's almost over as it is. But I think you may want to stop by sickbay and see Doctor Phlox first."

She gave her usual grave nod in return and left the bridge. Hoshi was slightly curious, but was soon caught up in her own work, and except for the occasional errant daydream about hula lessons, had no time to think of anything else.

* * *

Hoshi walked into the darkened gym with Malcolm, both of them ready for a good workout. For some reason, Hoshi seemed to have a lot of excess energy the past couple of days, and was glad that he had suggested that they come in for a sparring session. As they entered the empty room, Hoshi was grinning and joking. "I mean it, Malcolm! You better be on guard, because I'm going to take you down!"

Malcolm gave her a smile that showed more in his eyes, for his lips twitched so lightly that most people would have missed it entirely. It had taken her a while, but Hoshi finally felt that she was coming to understand him. He was far from the emotionless automaton so many took him for. She knew that he in fact felt things very deeply – so deeply that he felt he had to keep himself under control at all times to keep those he cared about safe. They were now close enough that he accepted her teasing and joking without embarrassment or discomfort – it probably didn't hurt that her natural sweetness kept any joke from ever having any real bite to it – and responded more and more in kind.

"You've truly frightened me, oh mighty warrior. I may have to cower in fear," he deadpanned, causing her to give him a playful swat on his arm. They both laughed as they set down their towels and water bottles and Malcolm increased the lights. That brought a moan from the floor, and Hoshi and Malcolm could see that they were not in fact alone: T'Pol lay on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Malcolm quickly went to her side as Hoshi ran to the comm panel to tell Phlox that they needed medical help. "Commander!" Malcolm repeated over and over as he gently shook her arm after checking her vital signs. "Commander, are you all right?"

Gradually, T'Pol seemed to come out of her coma-like state just as Phlox entered the room. "I am fine," she murmured. "Only tired. Need to sleep," she whispered, barely opening her eyes.

Hoshi stared at the scene in shock. T'Pol was _asleep_? Malcolm seemed just as surprised as he came to stand next to her as the doctor and his team prepared to take the Vulcan to sickbay. For a moment, they just looked at each other before Malcolm said he needed to inform the captain. Hoshi just nodded and followed Phlox to sickbay. Maybe she could be of some help.


	2. Part 2

**Part 2  
**

"So I heard you and Malcolm ran into some excitement last night."

Hoshi looked up from her padd to see Trip standing next to her. She smiled as she set the padd down on the bench next to her. "If you could call disturbing somebody's nap exciting," she answered.

He smiled and sat down on the bench next to her and looked around. "I wouldn't have thought to look for you here," he said as he looked around the hydroponics lab. "I had to nose around a bit before I found you."

"True, it may not exactly be a park-like setting, but I like to come down here every once and a while to just read and relax. It's comforting to be around growing things sometimes, you know?" She smiled again as he casually put an arm around her shoulders. She paused before oh-so-nonchalantly adding: "You were looking for me?"

He turned his face towards her, the twinkle in his eyes causing her to involuntarily hold her breath, but before he could make a response, they were interrupted by the captain entering the room. She was surprised to see an abnormally harried look on his face and his sandy hair tousled in every direction. "Flowers! Where are the flowers?" he asked in a harsh yet distracted voice, and Hoshi decided that it definitely fit the mad-scientist persona he was evidently trying to cultivate.

Trip quickly stood up and went to Jon, a slightly concerned look on his face. "What's up, Captain?" he asked, in a calm but not overly reassuring voice.

Jon ignored him as he scanned the different areas of the room. "I need to get her flowers," he continued in that same weirdly distracted voice. "Women always like flowers when they're sick."

At that point, Hoshi began to get a little nervous, and approached him. "Who do you want the flowers for, sir? Maybe I can help you."

At her voice, his eyes suddenly seemed to focus and he looked startled to find himself with the two of them standing amidst the planters. "What?… That is, thank you both… for your help," his words tumbled awkwardly out of his mouth. He seemed to finally realize where he was as he automatically smoothed his hair and uniform. "If you two will excuse me," he finished in a much more normal voice and made his way out of the lab.

Trip and Hoshi exchanged a quick, understanding look between them, and Trip hurried after Jon. "Wait up, Captain, I'll walk a bit with you."

Hoshi watched their backs as they left the lab. Things were definitely getting curious.

* * *

Hoshi was sitting in the mess hall, talking with Malcolm over the Captain's strange behavior earlier that day. Malcolm was frowning as he listened to her, his concern obvious to her. She hoped she was doing the right thing by telling him. She didn't want to overreact, but she couldn't pretend that she wasn't the slightest bit worried. Malcolm just let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

Her mouth quirked up at one end. "Tell me about it," she halfheartedly joked, just before Trip entered the mess hall, grabbed a cup of coffee and approached their table.

"Commander," Malcolm acknowledged, quickly sitting up straight, the slightest of flushes creeping up on his cheeks. Hoshi knew he was uncomfortable to have been interrupted during such an awkward topic.

"Relax, Malcolm," Trip replied as he sat down to join them, quickly taking in from their expressions what they must have been talking about. "I just stopped by sick bay to check in on T'Pol. Phlox still doesn't know what's causing her to be so knocked out. Apparently Vulcans normally don't need as much sleep as we do, but all T'Pol seems able to do is sleep." He smiled reassuringly at Hoshi's concerned expression. "The doc doesn't reckon that it's _that_ serious – just some kind of reaction to either the allergen on that planet or maybe the vaccination itself – but he's still trying to work out some way to get her back on her feet."

He took a sip of his coffee before speaking again. In an almost off-hand manner, he added, "I ran into the Captain while I was in sick bay. He was just asking the doc about something to clear his head a little – I guess that vaccination left people a little groggier than we thought. It doesn't seem very serious yet, but I suppose we should all be cautious. We'll just have to see how it goes."

Malcolm just nodded his head, but Hoshi threw one of her most brilliant smiles at him. Sometimes he wore that earnest, unsophisticated persona that he had cultivated so convincingly, that it was easy to forget that he actually missed very little around him. He knew that she and Malcolm were worried, but that they wouldn't be able to really voice their concerns. And he had just as easily solved the problem as best he could.

He returned her smile with one of his own, causing his eyes to sparkle in a way that raised her pulse a bit before she remembered who he was and where she was. Neither of them noticed the way one of Malcolm's brows rose by the tiniest of increments as he watched them.

As the mood around their table relaxed noticeably, Travis came to join them with a tray quite literally heaped with food. Hoshi and Malcolm just stared at the plates piled with at least three servings of macaroni and cheese, two slices of pie, a mountain of mashed potatoes, half a dozen rolls as well as what looked to be an entire meatloaf. "Sweet Lord almighty, Travis!" Trip exclaimed between bursts of laughter. "You planning on smuggling that out of here?"

Travis looked at them with an earnestly puzzled expression. "What are you talking about?"

At that, Trip stopped laughing, and all three of them immediately sobered. After a short silence, Malcolm calmly spoke to the young ensign. "Do you not think that you've selected a rather inordinate amount of food for one meal?"

Travis just shrugged before picking up his fork and digging in. "I was hungry," he casually replied as he began stuffing his face with mashed potato. Hoshi watched with a strange awe as he shoved an entire roll into his mouth. At the rate he was going, she suspected that he would finish off the entire tray before Trip finished his coffee. "Besides," another roll, "winter's coming." Huge forkfuls of macaroni. Winter? "You guys know that." God, how could that much meatloaf fit in there? "We've got to get ready for it." Forkfuls of pie. Cherry.

"Get ready for it?" Hoshi incredulously asked at the same time that Trip – his eyes bugging – practically yelled, "What the hell are you talking about?" Only Malcolm appeared under control, though his back seemed to grow stiffer, and his face more considering with each insane bite.

Hoshi thought she heard Travis mumble something like "hyper nation," but it was impossible to be sure, what with his mouth packed with mashed potato.

She had no time to question him further, for their attention was suddenly captured by an outburst at the other end of the mess hall. A young man whom Hoshi supervised in communications suddenly pushed chairs out of his way as he made his way to the center of the mess hall. Malcolm was instantly on his feet as the crewman shouted out, "And this next number is for all of you who have big dreams!" Then to Hoshi's amazement, he burst into a rather horrifyingly off-key rendition of "New York, New York," complete with a jerking set of tics and spasms that took her a moment to realize were meant to be a dance routine.

"Crewman Davis!" she shouted out to the one-man-show, trying to get his attention, just as Malcolm and Trip got to his side and tried to control him. After she alerted security and Phlox, she went to try to help subdue the crewman – she definitely didn't want to see a member of her small department hurt. But she couldn't help but notice that Travis had never moved from the table, and that his tray was almost cleaned of the mountain of food.


	3. Part 3

**Part 3**

Trip walked with a concerned Hoshi as they followed Malcolm and some others from his security team take the crewman – still singing, this time butchering a Gilbert and Sullivan tune – to sick bay. He could see how worried she was, and let himself grab her hand. Just to reassure her, of course. He had no other motives. Nope, not a one.

She gave him a quick look of gratitude and they entered sickbay, in time to find out that the young man was the "very model of a modern major general." Phlox gave the crewman a sedative and as he slipped off into sleep, the doctor began to shoo all of them out of his domain. At Hoshi and Malcolm's protest, Phlox promised to alert them the minute he found anything out. Just as they approached the doors, however, they opened to reveal Captain Archer holding an enormous bunch of flowers in one hand. In the other he brandished a length of pipe.

"Where is she? Where is the fair princess?" Jon exclaimed to the wide-eyed group gathered before him as he held his pipe aloft with all the finesse of... well, a man in a purple-blue jumpsuit and a pipe. Before they could even respond, he saw T'Pol lying in the far end of the room and rushed to her side, discarding flowers and pipe as he dropped to one knee and pressed one of her hands to his chest. "Fair maiden! The stories, they are true!" he cried out and turned to Phlox, who was watching him with the carefully considering eyes of one who knew he had not a moment to waste. Hoshi saw that the doctor readied a hypospray behind his back.

"And what stories are those?" he calmly asked as he slowly neared the captain, slightly nodding to Trip and Malcolm, who began to approach the captain from the other direction.

Jon gave a look of disgust at Phlox's question, and stood in what could only be described as a heroic pose, one hand on his chest, the other gesturing to his sleeping beauty. "The stories of a beautiful foreign princess, lying under a foul enchantment! I must save her, it is my destiny. Where are the dragons I must slay to free her from this foul spell?" he demanded just as Trip and Malcolm each grabbed an arm. "Release me, miscreants!" Jon shouted as he struggled against them. Phlox quickly injected him with a sedative and the captain quickly dropped off into sleep.

The others quickly put him into a bed and fastened restraints to him, just as they had earlier done to Crewman Davis. The four of them just looked at each other for a moment, taking in the bizarre behavior they had just witnessed. Finally, Malcolm interrupted the silence, his voice a welcome tone of calm and authority. "Commander Tucker, It appears that you now have command of the ship. I recommend that you, the doctor and myself immediately initiate the appropriate security protocols until this situation is remedied."

Trip closed his eyes for a moment, before exhaling a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he nodded to Malcolm before turning to Phlox, his voice just as calm as Malcolm's had been. "Doc, you got any ideas what's happening here? Was the vaccination not effective?"

"To be honest, I cannot say for certain. I have not even had chance to study Commander T'Pol for a day before these two other cases appeared. From what I have seen of the Commander, neither the allergen nor the vaccine itself seems to be the cause. It could simply be coincidence that three of the crew who went down to the planet have become ill."

At that moment, Chef's startled voice sounded over the comm. "Lieutenant Reed! We need your assistance straight away in the mess hall!"

As Malcolm immediately left, Trip went to the comm panel. "Commander Tucker here, Lieutenant Reed is on his way. What's going on?"

"Sir, it's Ensign Mayweather!" Chef exclaimed in a panicked voice. "He's… he's throwing chairs and tables around and…" he paused, clearly not sure if he should keep talking. "He's growling, sir! I… I … I think he thinks he's a bear!"

Trip gave a look to Phlox. "I think we can scratch coincidence from the list, doc."

Hoshi quickly grasped his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze between both of her own. He looked down at her and grinned as best he could. "Still sorry you missed shore leave?"

* * *

Hoshi sighed as she collapsed in a chair in the mess hall. She was glad to get away from both the bridge and sickbay – or, as they had all taken to calling it, the "command center," since they were constantly there to confer with Phlox and check in on Jon and T'Pol. They hadn't moved from their orbit above the gas giant since the strange outbreak had occurred over three days earlier. Hoshi had communicated with the planet the crew had been to, but had gotten no answers. The public health authorities there had seemed as puzzled as Phlox: they had had both human and Vulcan visitors before, and had never heard of such a reaction.

Moreover, while the illness seemed to be only affecting those who had taken shore leave, it had not affected _all_ those who had gone to the planet's surface. So, it had been an almost constant state of wary anxiety as they waited for another member of the crew to be taken into the makeshift quarantine facilities Malcolm had devised. Actually, Malcolm had wanted to isolate the entire crew who had contact with the planet's surface, but Trip had vetoed that idea. So far, over half of the crew was already in quarantine, and they needed every hand they could get to keep Enterprise functioning while trying to solve the mystery of the illness.

If Hoshi hadn't been so tired, the thought of how some of the crew had acted in the last few days might have brought a slight smile to her face. Some had been like Crewman Davis, apparently acting out on inner, suppressed desires. Hoshi thanked God that Malcolm hadn't been one of those affected, or heaven only knew what kinds of explosions the man could have unleashed on the galaxy. Others, like the Captain, had apparently _become_ other personalities. Travis the bear had been strange enough, but who could forget the sight of the most hulking member of the armory department thinking he was a ladybug? A ladybug that spoke English. An English-speaking ladybug who would rhapsodize to anyone listening about the utter delights of being the "cutest little thing in the whole wide world." Malcolm had been aghast.

Once this was cleared up, there would be some pretty embarrassed people on board. _Once this was cleared up_. Hoshi refused to accept that this wouldn't be solved soon.

"Tired, darlin?" Trip's voice brought Hoshi back into the moment. She gave him as much of a smile as she could muster. She was so proud of him: he was under so much pressure, but remained such a calm and reassuring presence to everyone on board.

"You have no idea," she answered, and then took in his own disheveled appearance. "Then again, I guess you probably do."

He laughed and went to stand behind her and gently kneaded her shoulders. "You're gonna wear yourself out, Hosh," he gently reprimanded her as a sigh of pure pleasure escaped from her. He smiled at that. "You've got to get some rest."

At that, Hoshi turned her head slightly to look at him. "You're a fine one to talk! When's the last time you got some sleep?"

"That's true," he answered, his eyes twinkling. "I _am_ pretty beat. You know, you're more than welcome to rub my shoulders, too. Heck, you can rub as much as you want, I won't complain none."

At that, Hoshi burst out laughing, and Trip was glad he was able to joke with her again, after all the stresses of the past few days. He hoped he could remind her of how much fun they'd had at that movie night. He had been waiting so long for the right opportunity. Maybe soon, he could get her to think of him in a new way, one that...

"Unhand her, buffoon!"

The strident order rang through the mess hall as a young ensign that Hoshi recognized from engineering practically ran towards them.

"_Buffoon_?" Trip echoed incredulously even as he moved to stand between the man and Hoshi. He could already see that someone was calling for assistance. "Look Ensign, let's just calm down here. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"

"What's on _my_ mind? Don't you think we should change that to what's on _your_ mind, Commander? Oh, but I've forgotten, we _all_ know that you have a one-track mind," he replied nastily, then turned love-sick eyes onto Hoshi, who was staring at him from her position behind Trip. His face flushed with anger as he turned back to Trip. "I've seen how you treat women, Tucker, and I'm not going to let you hurt her! She deserves better than someone like you!"

Trip couldn't believe how angry he was getting at what the young man was saying. He knew that the ensign was just ill, but it was making him see red that this particular delusion had focused on Hoshi. "Now see here!" Trip began, unable to keep all of his anger out of his voice, and Hoshi quickly placed herself between the two men.

"Please, Ensign," she began, in a calm voice. "There's no need to be angry at Commander Tucker, he was just being considerate. You work with him in engineering, you know how much he cares about the crew."

The young man stared at her, his big, brown, puppy-dog eyes filled with adoration. "He's not even that good an engineer, you know," he replied breathlessly, desperately wanting to impress her. "He acts like he knows everything, but it's the rest of us that make him look so good." Hoshi could hear Trip's choking response to the young man's claims, and made a motion behind her back to hush him. "I could make you anything you could ever want!" the ensign continued. "I'd do anything you asked! Let me show you how much I…"

The ensign didn't get to finish his vows, for at that moment he had slipped into unconsciousness as Malcolm injected him with a hypospray. As Malcolm and some others took him into quarantine, Trip turned Hoshi around to face him. "Are you all right, sweetheart?" he asked, his concern shining so sincerely on his face. Hoshi forced herself to remember that he was just a friend.

She nodded yes, but he only frowned before adding, "You need rest. I'll walk you to your quarters." After some brief, half-hearted resistance to the suggestion, they left the mess hall. As they walked, he tucked her arm through his own, and she wished that it hadn't felt quite so good.

They walked in silence for a bit before Trip finally spoke. "So it looks like you've got an admirer."

Hoshi blushed. "Yeah, and it only took some kind of alien virus for a man on this ship to fall for me," she nervously joked as they approached her cabin.

He stopped in front of her door and looked down at her, catching her hands in his own. For the first time, his eyes were a mystery to her. "Don't say things like that," he responded in a low voice, his accent practically caressing her ears. "You know as well as me that he must have had some real deep feelings for you hidden for a while. He only acted on what was already there."

Hoshi forced herself to tear her gaze from his eyes, but she didn't move and only looked away in embarrassment. "Well, I hope you don't hold it against him. He didn't exactly flatter you."

Trip gave a throaty chuckle. "I think he would have said similar things to any man he found you with." Neither of them spoke until Hoshi brought her eyes up to his again. "I reckon I can understand that," he whispered.

Hoshi just stared at him for what seemed like an eternity, and then he saw that blush returning to her cheeks. Had he ever thought of her as adorable? He must have been half-blind: she was beautiful. "Good night," she whispered as she ducked into her cabin.

A smile covered his face as he stood alone at her closed door, and with a spring to his step, walked to his own cabin.

As soon as he entered, the comm sounded. "Commander Tucker?" Doctor Phlox's super-cheerful voice came flooding through. Trip could practically see the huge grin on the Denobulan's face – a grin that had been noticeably missing lately.

"Yeah, doc?" he answered, his hopes rising.

"I believe I have some good news."

Trip smiled; things were getting better and better.


	4. Part 4

**Part 4**

Hoshi sat at her station, desperately trying to keep her mind on her work, but other thoughts kept intruding.

It had been almost thirty-six hours since the doctor had linked the illness to a chemical imbalance that was in fact _not_ caused by the vaccinations. Instead, the culprit was the inhalation of the original allergen, in addition to exposure to certain emissions from the gas giant they had been exploring, which had caused the neurological imbalances. Although some had fallen ill earlier than others, Phlox stated that eventually all of the crew who had gone on shore leave would have been affected. It was no wonder that it had provided such a puzzle to the doctor – neither component was harmful alone, but in combination… Captains became dragon-slayers, pilots became bears and Vulcans apparently became very drowsy.

So, by cautiously waiting in orbit of the planet until they could solve the illness, they very well could have permanently disabled over half the crew. At least now, as they sped along in their course away from that particular star system, the crew was beginning to return to normal.

Perhaps if such thoughts had been the cause of Hoshi's distractions, she might have felt a little justified in her lack of attention. At least then she could blame it on altruism. Unfortunately, it was not concern for the well-being of her ill crewmates that occupied her mind, but the thoughts of one particular engineer.

What had he been playing at, looking at her like that, talking to her like that, outside her door? Could he have developed feelings for her? She sighed and shook her head. As much as she wished it could be otherwise, she couldn't bring herself to believe that was true. He was probably just tired. And reacting to what had happened earlier with that lovesick ensign. And tired. And was just practicing his flirting skills, since he hadn't run into any sultry alien women lately. And tired. She didn't really think badly of him, but it was just too painful that what had obviously been a little joke to him had made her heart beat like mad against her chest.

She inwardly cursed herself and her cheeks burned at the thought of how she had slipped and let him know the truth of her feelings that night. Please, the way she had been staring at him in front of her door? She must have looked pathetic! A hundred times worse than that ensign had in the mess hall – at least he had a life-threatening illness to blame it on. Lucky bastard. Great, this was all she needed, for Trip to start seeing her as some sad little thing mooning after him. She could just picture him patting her on the head. What would be next? He'd start feeding her cheese and talking her for walks? At that moment, the object of her musings entered the bridge, and she quickly put her head down, trying to adopt the appearance of a person who had long been about her work, though it was difficult to be convincing, considering how tired she was.

When Trip took the captain's chair, he took one, quick look over at her before he slumped more than a bit dejectedly into the seat. He had been hopeful after that night he had walked her to her cabin, but in the hectic days since, she had been avoiding him like the plague.

Had he misread the situation that badly? He had never fumbled so badly with a woman before, but it had been a long time since he had cared about a woman as much as he cared for Hoshi. He must have scared her to death with all his talk. Oh yeah, there's nothing a woman likes to hear more – after being practically attacked by some idiot – than some _other_ idiot saying he could understand the motives of the first idiot attacker. Real smooth.

He knew that he cared more about her than she did him, but he had long harbored some hope of changing that. Now she probably just thought he was some horrible, smarmy lecher, hitting on her while she was tired and vulnerable. He doubted that she would even be willing to go back to the friendly banter that had been the high point of many of his days. He sighed loudly as he resolutely watched the view screen, fatigue battling his ability to concentrate. That's it, buddy. You blew it.

Across the bridge, Malcolm let out a quiet but disgusted snort as he watched the two senior officers working very hard at not noticing each other. How could those two keep messing such a simple thing up? he asked himself for not the first time. They had been dancing around each other for what seemed like forever, and he thought they would have finally gotten together after that absolutely inane movie night. At the thought of that ridiculous event, and the lengths Trip had gone to please Hoshi, Malcolm grimaced. Good Lord, could the man have been any more obvious? Apparently, the answer was yes, he decided, looking at a forlorn Hoshi.

As he watched Trip let out a ridiculously long yawn, he saw that Hoshi did her best to hide her own signs of exhaustion. Maybe they were just too tired to see what was right in front of them. That had to be it. Either that, or the two of them just enjoyed acting like a couple of martyrs, torturing themselves. Which he could possibly live with, if it hadn't meant that _he_ would be also be tortured by witnessing this god-awful homage to gothic teenage-tragedy. And even that was preferable to seeing Trip in his swimming trunks again. Ack.

He shook his head. This was exactly the kind of situation that a smart man stayed well away from. And he was a smart man. Very smart. That's right, a very smart man. With a rather stupid grin on his face.

* * *

The next night, Malcolm walked into the lounge and saw Hoshi sitting alone on one of the small sofas, staring out the window with a pensive expression on her face. He gave himself a moment to back out of his plan, reminding himself that he was _not_ an idiot. But, instead of following the path that caution urged him to take, he walked over to her and sat down in a chair across from her. "I was just thinking," he announced, drawing her attention from her daydreaming, "we never did get that sparring session." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you still so sure you can 'take me down'?"

She smiled at him, but he could see the effort behind it. "Maybe not today, but soon," she replied, and a little genuine cheerfulness returned to her face. "And don't get so cocky, Malcolm. Your defeat will be even more humiliating if you start gloating now."

"Of course not today," he answered, pointedly but good-naturedly ignoring the second half of her answer. "We all could use some rest," he continued, referring to the break they had been given from active duty.

Hoshi nodded her head. She could have used the break even earlier – some of the crew had actually been scheduled for some extra time off, in exchange for missing shore leave, even before the medical emergency had started. But, with most of the crew quarantined, those same already overworked crewmembers had been working practically nonstop for a week. T'Pol had been one of the first to recover, and she had immediately ordered some well-deserved down-time for the weary.

Before Hoshi could voice her agreement, Malcolm continued, having just seen the other person he was waiting for. "Besides, I'm actually here to meet with Commander Tucker," he said in a calm voice as he waved Trip over to them. He almost smiled as he ignored the slight look of panic that overcame both their features. Torturing friends could be fun. Who knew?

"Trip, have a seat. Hoshi and I were just chatting a bit," he said as he motioned to the only seat available: the one next to Hoshi on the sofa. Of course, Trip had no excuse for not taking the offered seat. "We were just talking about how welcome the break is for us – we've definitely deserved it, after all the work we've had lately. I've been trying to come with ideas of how to spend the extra time, though I suppose a long shower and a good rest will top the list," he finished with a wry laugh.

If either Hoshi or Trip noticed that Malcolm was talking _way_ more than usual, neither of them gave any sign of it, he thought. They both just seemed relieved that he was taking the focus off of them. "So, how's the Captain feeling?" he asked Trip, then turned to Hoshi in explanation, "Trip was just visiting the Captain in sickbay before coming here."

Trip seemed a little alarmed to have to speak. "He's, uh, he's doing pretty good," he stammered. "The doc says he'll be ready for duty tomorrow, or the day after. Though he did seem a little embarrassed about his 'episode'." _Episode_ was the polite word people had taken to calling the various manifestations of the illness. While many of the crew had forgotten who they were while ill, they all seemed to remember what they had done when they recovered. Some people were more than a little amused. Most were more than a little uncomfortable.

Malcolm was the only one to laugh. "As I'm sure most of the crew will be as they recover. I wonder how relieved T'Pol was to have escaped with only a long nap. While her Vulcan logic might have told her that she was not responsible for her actions while ill, I'm sure the loss of control would have embarrassed her far more than maybe even the Captain."

Even Trip and Hoshi both smiled at that, though Malcolm could see the effort behind the smiles, as though they were willing themselves to act normally. Oh bloody hell…time to cast the dice.

"But, in a strange way, I almost envy them," he said, and waited for the obvious reply.

It was Hoshi that helpfully responded, her curiosity overwhelming her embarrassment. "Are you serious, Malcolm?" she asked good naturedly. "After T'Pol, you're the last person I would have expected to say something like that. _I_ certainly wouldn't have wanted to trade places with any of them. Unless," she added, in an arch whisper, "unless _you_ wanted to be a ladybug?"

Malcolm just snorted at that, not letting himself get distracted. "Hardly that. It's just that the illness caused people to act on feelings and desires that they had long suppressed. So perhaps while the Captain might want us to forget that he once dreamed of being a knight, riding around the countryside righting wrongs with an aluminum pipe, at least he got to do it for a short while."

Trip nodded his head, finally caught up in what Malcolm was saying. "Yeah, I was talking with Travis, and he was laughing about his whole bear-transformation," at least, once he was reassured that he hadn't hurt anyone. "He said that when he was a little boy he had seen a movie about grizzly bears and had gone crazy for them. He pretended to be one all the time when he was roaming around on his parents' ship. He hadn't even thought about it for years, but it really cracked him up that he got to play at it again."

Malcolm nodded. "Exactly," he replied, and leaned a little closer to the two of them, lowering his voice just a bit. "Don't we all have dreams that we place on hold, desires that we push down and try to ignore? I know that it may seem out of character, but even I can see the appeal in following your heart without reserve, if only for a little while."

Malcolm then leaned back, seeing how the two were responding to his words. Both of them looked a little flushed. "After all," he added, "how much time are we all really given? Something could happen any day, and perhaps we shouldn't lose sight of that. How am I going to feel at the end of my life, looking over a list of missed opportunities, knowing that maybe embarrassment – or pride – kept me from being happy?"

This time, Malcolm saw the flush deepen a little more in their faces, and they were each trying to look at each other out of the corner of their eyes. He gave a crooked smile. He had done all that he could do. He stretched a bit before standing up from his chair. "Well, if you'll excuse me… Trip, I hope you don't mind if I cancel on dinner. I see a particular botanist that I've had my eye on for a while, and I think I want to take some of my own advice. Besides," he added in as innocent a voice as he cold manage, "I believe you would have a much better companion in Hoshi than me anyway."

With that, he left a slightly surprised Hoshi and Trip staring after him as he began to chat up a sweet-faced young woman. He managed to sneak a look back at Hoshi and Trip, before becoming absorbed in his own conversation. Yes, a very smart man.

* * *

Slowly, they looked at each other, both of them repeating Malcolm's words in their minds. Finally, Hoshi managed to open her mouth. "Trip," she began, just as "Hoshi" came out of his own mouth.

They laughed uncomfortably, and a pause threatened to grow into an impressive silence when Trip decided to risk speaking again. "Well, since Mal's deserted us, maybe we could go for a walk before getting some dinner? Maybe somewhere a little quieter?" he asked, looking for all the world like a hopeful little boy.

Hoshi's heart just melted. Even if he didn't feel the same way that she did, at least she finally knew that she wasn't going to lose her friendship with him. "Sure, that sounds great," she said with a shy smile as he got up and offered his hand to help her stand.

They left the lounge, oblivious to the knowing glance that Malcolm shot after them, and Hoshi followed Trip to a rarely-used observation deck. It was a small room, but the entire exterior wall was practically covered by a giant window. With the lights off, the view was spectacular, and the room seemed as immense as space itself.

"Oh, Trip," she breathed in awe as she walked up to the window. "It's beautiful here."

Trip's chest tightened a bit at the way she said his name. He was determined to be brave and to say what had to be said. So maybe she didn't care about him in the way he hoped. He had to be honest with her, and he had to trust in the fact that she was a good person, one who wouldn't hold his unrequited feelings against him. He walked up to stand beside her, the both of them looking out into the sea of stars. "So, that was pretty interesting, what Malcolm was saying. About being envious and all."

Hoshi didn't turn her face away from the window, but just replied in a low voice, "Yeah, I guess we all have some regrets. And some hopes." She sighed and put a hand on the window, it almost looked as if she was touching the stars. After a short pause, she sighed and continued. "It's just so much worse when the two get all mixed up together."

"Hoshi," Trip responded in a low voice, turning to face her, "do you know what it feels like to have to say something, but to be too scared?" He saw that her body tensed up, but knew that he had to finish. "Scared of finding out how the other person feels, but knowing that you've got to tell them anyway?"

"It's okay, Trip," Hoshi answered, turning to him, but keeping her eyes down. "You don't have to go through all of this, I'll save you the trouble." With her every word, Trip's heart fell deeper into his stomach, but forced himself to stay for the other shoe to drop. "I care about you – too much, more than I should. I know you don't feel the same way, and that you're just being nice to me and looking out for me, and that I'm probably making you feel uncomfortable. I just wanted you to know that I'll keep it under control, because I don't want to lose you as a friend."

When there was no response to what she said, she finally looked up into his face. Whatever she was expecting, the expression he wore wasn't it. He again looked like a little boy, but this time one getting the best surprise of his life. She couldn't understand it at all.

"Trip?" she asked, worriedly, placing one hand on his arm. "Are you all right? Maybe I shouldn't have said anything after all."

Trip just looked at her, a huge smile spreading across his face, his blue eyes twinkling. "Darlin, you couldn't have said anything that I wanted to hear _more_." With that, he wrapped his arms around her, lifted her up off the floor, and planted a huge kiss right on her.

After one breathless second of confusion, Hoshi gave up on thinking, and just kissed him back with all the pent-up passion for him that she had been fighting for so long. The kiss could've gone on for hours, she wasn't sure. What she _was_ sure of, was that it was the best first kiss she'd ever had in her life. Scratch that. The best kiss she ever had in her life. Scratch that. The best kiss anyone had ever had since life began.

When he finally let her go, they were both woozy and flushed and happier than they imagined they could have been only minutes earlier. They just stood there, clinging to each other for support, Trip's arms wrapped around her, her head tucked into his chest. She let out a long, contented sigh, and Trip laughed, kissing the top of her head. "You took the words right outta my mouth, in more ways than you might know."

When she looked up at him in confusion, he answered with that grin that she just adored. "Now, let _me_ make a little confession to _you_…"

As she listened to him, a wonderful warmth spread throughout her heart_. Thank goodness for allergens and Malcolm Reed_, the thought flashed through her mind just before Trip pulled her up for another record-breaking kiss. As she melted into him, she though that for a kiss like this, maybe he actually deserved a grass skirt. But not a coconut bra. A girl had to draw the line somewhere.


End file.
